1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to an improved hair dryer hood of the type that has a smooth outer shell and a spaced perforated inner liner with a space therebetween to distribute heated air from a source of supply. Different sized inner liners are provided to be quickly connected/disconnected from the outer shell to change the functional characteristics of the dryer without changing the basic design.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One of the popular home hair dryers is the stand or rigid hood type dryer with the motor and fan assembly in a base that may be placed on a table and an air conduit supports the hood at a convenient height for the user when sitting in a chair. Such dryers present storage and carrying problems and various means have been devised whereby the rigid hood is folded onto the base in a bell-like structure well known in the art and of the general type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,563. Such dryers are generally known as salon dryers, as opposed to the soft bonnet type, and come in basically two hood liner sizes. There are salon dryers with small liners about eleven inches in diameter and eight inches deep and larger dryers with liners about twelve inches in diameter and eight and one-half inches deep to accommodate different sized heads and larger rollers. The larger have the advantage of accommodating larger rollers and heads but have the disadvantages of wasting air flow thus decreasing efficiency and increasing drying time when used with small rollers and heads. On the other hand, the smaller liners have the disadvantage of not accommodating larger rollers and heads but the distinct advantage of effectively and efficiently drying hair when used with smaller rollers and heads. The prior art has generally involved a compromise between these mutually exclusive conditions and structures. Also, it is known to provide salon dryers with a variable drying cavity. Typically, the hood may use an eyelid that can be lowered over the eyes to increase the air captive volume and thus change the volume of the inner liner and this may be used with hair rollers or merely for faster drying. The folding lid permits the hood to be reduced for storage and a typical example of this device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,563 supra. Others provide a cut-out portion in the hood in the form of a visor that can be swung back for easier entry to the hood and is then closed, to provide more of the hood over the head as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,810,967. Generally, dryers that change the volume for the heated air have used hood extensions or lids or visors and have selected a fixed inner liner that would best handle different head sizes and roller sizes. Thus, the salon dryers with means for varying the volume drying cavity have resulted in complex structures that, at best, represent a compromise. The present invention provides a means to change the volume of the inner liner within the fixed confines of the outer shell by providing separate detachable different-sized inner liners that can be selectively connected to the outer shell by a quick connect/disconnect interlock.